“My son has benefited from Dr. Ye’s class and improved his writing skills. Dr. Ye has an excellent step-by-step approach to teaching students how to write well and improve their writing skills. She starts from an overview of grammar and usage of vivid action words. Dr. Ye then teaches students how to be descriptive yet focus on the topic, how to prepare and conduct research before writing, and how to revise once a draft is completed. Dr. Ye reviews each assignment with attention to details and provides constructive feedback, which helps my son improve his writing skills by identifying his strengths and weaknesses. As a parent, I always appreciate Dr. Ye’s summary on what’s taught during the weekly class and what each assignment is about. This enables me to ask my son specific questions on what he has learned in class and go over with him how he can apply the skills he has learned to complete the assignment.” – Brian mom

部分往期学生习作

The DeliveryBy Claire

Ding-dong. The sound of the doorbell echoed through the house, waking me up. I squinted at the clock. Three in the morning? This is a weird time for a delivery…

I trudged down the stairs, rubbing my eyes. I looked out the window. The sky was a dark gray, and the sun was gradually coming up. A dim street light flickered in the distance. I slowly turned the doorknob and stepped onto the front porch.[expander_maker id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]

At my feet, I saw a tan cardboard package and picked it up. There wasn’t an address or name of the deliverer. Interesting…

Scritch, scritch. Suddenly, I heard a strange scratching noise coming from the package in my hands. There had to be something living inside, so I decided to investigate. I tore open the box.

I gasped as I looked inside. In the corner of the box was a stormy-gray ball of fluff. It was about the size of a small piggy bank, and had two shiny black eyes. Its long ears drooped down, and its tiny tail looked like a cotton ball. It was a bunny.

When I was younger, I had always wanted a pet rabbit. Later, I wasn’t as obsessed, but still thought about it sometimes. My shocked face broke into a smile. I just received the best delivery ever. But, who delivered it?

I scooped up the warm and fuzzy bunny and took it inside. Then, I jogged outside, picked up the empty box, and turned it over. On the bottom, there was a note that read:

“Take care of Raincloud. He needs a better home. I love him, but can’t keep him anymore. Get him hay, veggies, and a good cage. Thanks. –Sam“

Sam was my neighbor. He must have known that I liked bunnies. I didn’t know he owned one. I looked at Sam’s house. Workers were moving boxes into a big truck. He must have had to leave really early in the morning, I thought.

By then, I understood everything. I couldn’t wait to experience more adventures with Raincloud. This delivery, which seemed mysterious at first, turned out to be a wonderful surprise that fulfilled my dreams.

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A Person Who Inspired Me: Jayson WerthBy Brian

Sure, baseball is a team sport, but there’s one man, who changed the whole scene for DC baseball. He’s the man, the myth, the legend, Jayson Werth! He completely transformed the Nationals. From being a ragtag, appalling team, to a top contender for winning the NL East division.[expander_maker id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]

Jayson Werth had to make the biggest decision in his career when he became a free agent in 2010. With his previous team, the Phillies, he had already won two MVP awards and had even gotten a World Series ring. Now he had to decide whether to stay with the Phillies, the number one NL East team, or to sign with the Nationals, the worst NL East team at that time.

He chose the Nationals. Even after a rough first season with the Nationals, he would still always try his best and his hard work paid off. For the next six years of his career, the Nationals made playoffs four times. Even after a loss, he would laugh it off and be ready on the field the very next day. He’s the person that would always help out his team. You could say he is the reason why Bryce Harper is the Bryce Harper we know today.

Jayson Werth’s efforts and upbeat personality with the Nationals inspired me to always try my best and keep going even when things look bleak and hopeless. He also inspired me to always have a positive attitude even when things don’t go my way. He showed me that anyone, even just a single person, can make changes for the better.[/expander_maker]

A Visit to My HometownBy Arielsie

I felt extraordinary when I left Maryland and flew back to China in last summer. My mind was filled with images of my good friends, delicious food, and cities in China. But there was still a surprise trip waiting for me: a visit to my hometown: Inner Mongolia and Ningwu. I grew up in Beijing, and always see Beijing as my home, but I had never seen my actual hometown.[expander_maker id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]

When we drove from Beijing to Inner Mongolia, we saw sceneries a lot different than the city. Green mountains and farmland stretched miles in the far distance. Sometimes, cows and sheep wandered around the farm. I was amazed by how beautiful it was when crops danced in the wind. Finally, we arrived at my hometown, a little village. The residents in the village are mostly old farmers, including dad’s uncles. We visited their houses, and I screamed with joy when I saw many cute sheep and chickens. It was amazing to see an actual village instead of just reading about villages in books.

For my dad, Ningwu is really important because it’s where he spent his childhood. And just like how dad described it, Ningwu was amazing. All the tall mountains, winding rivers, and fresh air are wild and beautiful. I was also surprised that the village and the house where dad spent his childhood were still there, with new people moved in. At last, we visited the Icehole, a hole that is filled with ice formed in the Ice Age! It is now a cool tour site. With lights, the icicles, ice pillars, and ice trees shined in different colors.

Before, dad always said that my hometown is as good as the famous tour sites we once visited. I didn’t believe it before, but now I do.[/expander_maker]

A Dishwashing AdventureBy Bernie

When people think about “Emotional Moment,” they don’t usually think about dishwashing. However, that is exactly what I felt when I went to the county fair and washed dishes.

My friend, Eric, and I had just finished our previous job and decided to take a seat and relax. However, the seat that we were sitting on was right in front of a cooking counter, and my dad had the great idea of helping the people there wash the dishes. I didn’t mind at first, but that was about to change very soon.[expander_maker id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]

I started out drying dishes. I thought that we were going too slow, so I decided to take on the task of rinsing dishes, as that was the job holding up the supply. After I’d rinsed a couple dozen dishes, somebody announced lunch was ready in the cafeteria. At that time, I decided to hurry up, and rinsed dishes with even more ferocity. However, after washing what must’ve been a hundred dishes, there was still no end in sight. “What kind of job is this?” I wondered. “Do they even want us to eat lunch?” I scrubbed faster.

As lunch hour was half over, I started getting angry. “WHY DO SO MANY DISHES HAVE TO BE ‘DIRTY’ ? THERE ISN’T EVEN A SPECK OF DUST ON IT!” I thought. At that point, I was ticked off. I didn’t care how clean the dishes were. I just wanted them to get rinsed. I even cracked a few, but I didn’t care.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got them finished. We rushed to the cafeteria and got there just as they were closing up the serving line. We got our lunch, and ducked out of there as soon as we could.

So, next time somebody asks you to wash dishes for a fair, please KINDLY reply to them: “No thanks” and walk away.